Maybe, Just Maybe, We're Off to a Good Start
by Silverflare07
Summary: Set both in the future and after the Valentine's Day episode. Ned finds something special that Moze has kept since 7th grade and Moze remembers a very nice moment from an otherwise annoying Valentine's Day.


So it's been a very, very long time since I've written anything and that makes me so sad. I just haven't been inspired (I've also been very, very busy). My boyfriend and I have been spending some quality time together every night watching TV shows on Netflix and it was my turn to pick and I found NDSSG and so we've been watching that every night for about two weeks. We finally made it to the Valentine's Day episode and I was hit with inspiration. This! Hope you guys enjoy it. It will probably make more sense if you've seen the Valentine's Day episode, but it can be read without having watched it.

Also, I own nothing. Not NDSSG not PJO not anything. So there.

oOoOo

Ned woke up. It wasn't the kind of frantic waking that accompanies a nightmare though. Something, something that was far less scary, had simply lured him out of dreamland and into the realm of wakefulness. A breeze blew in from the window and Ned realized he was cold. Moze liked to keep the window open on nights when Ned stayed over. Although they weren't doing anything that would create unnecessary heat, she still claimed that the extra body heat just from Ned being there was enough to warrant the window open. Of course, she also had a bad habit of stealing all the blankets in her sleep. During the summer this wasn't a problem, but it had just begun to get cooler out and, as a result, Ned was becoming a little more attached to the idea of actually being able to use the comforter on Moze's bed.

He glanced down at Moze; she was still sleeping peacefully, wrapped almost like a burrito in her blue comforter. There was no way he was getting that back from her tonight. Instead, he turned to her desk, where he dropped his sweater when he'd first arrived at the Mosley household. He crept out of bed and quickly made his way over to the desk, grabbing and the sweater and savoring the warmth that it provide once he had put it on. A picture frame at the left end of the desk caught his attention and he smiled.

It was from nearly a year ago; he, Moze, Cookie, and Lisa (who were still dating) had gone to the beach to enjoy it one last time before school started. In the picture, he and Moze were standing, facing on another, his arms wrapped around her waist. They were smiling at each other, neither aware that either Cookie or Lisa had a camera and was taking pictures. Ned knew, even a year later, that it was still one of Moze's favorite pictures.

Next to the picture frame, Ned could see Moze's favorite book series. He smiled; even at almost nineteen years old, and well into their senior year, Moze's favorite books were the _Percy Jackson and the Olympians _series. Ned had to admit, as much as he disliked reading, he did enjoy this series. He enjoyed all five books equally, but he knew Moze's favorite was the last one, _The Last Olympian_. He stopped short when he noticed that said book had a gap between the pages, like something had been stuffed inside it.

His curiosity got the better of him, and he quickly picked up the book to examine it. It all but fell open to the pages he wanted and he was surprised to find a dried and pressed rose tucked in between the pages along with a red index card. He picked it up and read it, a grin sliding onto his face as he did so.

"Hey." Ned jumped in surprise at the sound and turned to see Moze grinning at him from the edge of her bed. "What are you doing?"

"I was cold, so I came to get my sweater," He grinned guiltily as she rose from the bed and made her way over to him, settling herself in his lap, "and then I noticed that there was something in your favorite book and I was just wondering what it was."

Moze smiled at him and turned to look at the book that was lying open on the desk. She moved the dried rose slightly and ran her finger about half way down the page. 

"'_But she laced her fingers through mine_.'" Ned wasn't sure if she was actually reading from the book, or if she just happened to know this particular quote from memory, but he just smiled softly and let her continue. "'_I remembered what she'd told me in New York, about building something permanent, and I thought—just maybe—we were off to a good start._' I always thought that was the perfect place for this." She smiled gently and put the rose back where it had been.

Ned wrapped his arms around his girlfriend, warmth spreading through him at the contact. "So tell me, how did you figure it out?"

She grinned.

oOo

_Valentine's Day, 7th Grade_

Moze looked up from her homework at the pile of roses that was making it difficult for her to complete her English assignment. There were two or three dozen roses lying haphazardly on her desk where she'd dumped after coming home from school. As nice as it had been to receive flowers, they had brought her nothing but trouble the rest of the day. She glared at the flowers as she remembered having to hide in garbage cans and Gordy's HAZMAT suit for most of the day.

The grimace melted off her face as her gaze slipped to a single red rose that rested in a vase on the desk where, although she didn't know it yet, she would someday have a picture of herself and her best friend, Ned Bigby. She hadn't gotten that particular rose until after school. Martin had stopped her on the way to the bus and handed it to her, apologizing profusely. Apparently, the card had been the first one he had received and had accidentally gotten forgotten at the bottom of the box. She'd thanked him before quickly making her way to bus, afraid to get sucked into a never-ending conversation with the youngest Qwerly if she stayed any longer.

She hadn't had a chance to read the card until she was home, but she'd assumed it wouldn't be much different from the other dozens of cards she'd received today. She picked up the card from where it was resting at the base of the vase and smiled as she read the words once again.

_You are truly one of the most beautiful people I have ever known, inside and out. I am so lucky that you are a part of my life. Happy Valentine's Day Hot stuff. _

_P.S. Maybe someday we can be valentines :)_

The card had been so different from all the others that she had received that she'd wanted to keep it separate from the rest. And the post script about someday being valentines, Moze wasn't quite sure why, but it seemed so much more sincere then the other _"Be my valentine?"_s that had been written on the other cards. Moze wasn't sure why, but it gave her a nice feeling of warmth every time she looked at the flower. If only she could figure out who had sent it. . .

A loud beep halted her train of thought. She flipped open her cell phone to see a text message from Cookie.

_Thanks again for saving me from the embarrassment of a lifetime._ :)

Moze grinned and quickly began to type back her reply.

_No problem. Hope being surrounded by that group of girls was worth all the trouble. haha_

She only had to wait a moment before her cell phone beeped once more, signaling Cookie's reply text.

_Oh it was. And it made a great way for Ned to dodge the Huge Crew!_

Moze's head snapped up and her eyes widened as she read Cookie's text. It prompted a memory from earlier that day that had seemed so insignificant she had all but forgotten about it, to come flooding back to her.

She remembered standing next to her woodshop project, which was actually Ned who was hiding from the Huge Crew. Unfortunately for him, she really did need her woodshop project and had told him he'd have to find a new hiding spot.

"_Fine, I'll catch a ride with Cookie._" He'd said, moving to slip into the gaggle of girls surrounding their other best friend. "_Good luck, Hot stuff." _

Moze closed her phone, completely forgetting to respond to her friend. She looked up at the lone rose sitting in the vase and smiled. The card was right. They weren't ready to be valentines just yet.

But they were off to a pretty good start.

oOoOo

Phew, finished. Hopefully the idea wasn't terribly corny and hopefully the characters weren't terribly OOC. It's been a while since I've written any kind of fanfiction and even longer since I've written a NDSSG one.

And, as always, reviews are greatly appreciated.


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